Here in Malawi, we long to see self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating indigenous churches suited to local culture and led by local Christians.
Missionary theologians have long since debated the relative merits of different methods of planting such churches:
– Indigenisation is where foreign missionaries pioneer healthy churches and then hand them over to local believers. The foreign mission is regarded as a scaffold which should be removed as soon as the fellowship of local believers is adequately trained and properly functioning.
– Indigeneity is where foreign missionaries don’t plant or lead a church themselves, but help local converts develop their spiritual gifts and leadership abilities to steadily develop their own fellowships. The church is thus indigenous right from the outset.
Neither approach has been particularly effective in Malawi.
The culture is far from godly and the country is in great need of re-evangelization
Malawi is a poor country, but quietly run. It has the nickname ‘The Warm Heart of Africa’ because of the, often, friendly nature of its people. This, combined with the natural beauty of its mountains, lakes and wildlife, makes it an attractive destination to visit. However, whilst Malawi remains a wonderful place to come as a tourist, it is a difficult and often dysfunctional context in which to make and grow disciples. In fact, advancing the gospel here often feels like climbing a mountain. Inadequate infrastructure (poor roads and a lack of power and water), expensive imports (131.5% tax for a 12-year-old two litre car), crippling bureaucracy, and every tropical disease under the sun all take their toll on the foreign missionary.
“That mighty Being, who heaped up these craggy rocks, and reared these stupendous mountains, and poured out these streams in all directions, and scattered immortal beings throughout these deserts – He is present, by the influence of his Holy Spirit, and accompanies the sound of the gospel with converting, sanctifying power.” Adoniram Judson
More generally, widespread physical poverty is exacerbated by poor governance and endemic corruption. The IMF ranked Malawi as fifth from bottom for GDP per capita in 2016. A shocking 47% of children under 5 display inhibited growth. The Church has been similarly stunted by those without the necessary convictions, character, or competency being fast-tracked into leadership, or simply appointing themselves as pastors.
Despite in excess of 70% of the population professing to be Christian, the culture is far from godly and the country is in great need of re-evangelization with the authentic gospel. Though some send glowing reports of impressive numbers turning to Christ, the unfortunate reality is that many of those doing the writing and ‘turning’ are merely nominal Christians chasing handouts in what has increasingly become a donor-dependent culture.
We’re attempting something a bit different from the usual mission strategies, and a touch more organic, at Blantyre Community Church. Rather than regarding ourselves as foreign missionaries trying to pioneer a church to hand over to locals and then, necessarily, stepping away; we see ourselves as being part of a lasting partnership to build a healthy church alongside indigenous brothers and sisters and then staying around to govern it together. Conversely, rather than expecting locals to go and plant their own fellowships after drawing alongside them for a bit of training and encouragement, we seek to raise indigenous church-planters through the church, who have been well-discipled over the longer run, who have seen a model for biblical ministry first-hand, and who can multiply that model with ongoing training and support.
In short, we are investing for the long haul to establish Blantyre Community Church as flagship church, that we pray God might graciously use to become a church-planting hub.
There is a long way to go. Whilst the church is now ‘united for mission’, we can’t develop leaders fast enough to adequately cover our programmed events, let alone to allow us to absorb the burgeoning personal work opportunities. Thus, as we seek to keep moving forwards, one of our key needs is to assemble a staff team so that we will be able to seriously invest in training up indigenous leadership for the long-term, rather than continuing to heavily rely on expatriate visitors who are here on a short-term basis.
As we continue to look forwards with hope, we look backwards with thanks and upwards with faith.
– Lee Furney